PA Systems. Open Discussion.

[Gearjoneser]

I'm curious to see what some of you are using for rehearsal PA Systems, or also one's for acoustic guitar/vocal performances. I've been giving some thought to the idea of using a highpowered guitar power amp in my PA, like a Mesa 295, Strategy 500 etc. Right now, I'm using Shure & Sennheiser mics into a Behringer 8 track mixer, Carvin DCM 1000 power amp, 2 Yamaha 15's/horns, also a 12 inch Carvin Wedge. Since I like the sound of tube power amps, do you think I should swap the SS Carvin for a really good guitar power amp? Do you think it would give a more natural sounding vocal tone? For the price of many solid state power amps, you can pick up some good, monster tube amps, which are honestly too loud for guitar setups.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: PA Systems. Open Discussion.

I think that the tube power sections might color the vocals and acoustic guitar sound more than SS setups. It might be a good thing, but then again, it might not. YMMV.

The reason I say this is because the guitar is a midrange instrument while vocals and acoustics need a much broader bandwidth to sound natural. I presume that by using a power stage voiced for guitar (that is, mostly midrange) the vocals and acoustics might sound a bit cmpressed and nasaly as opposed to a more transparent power section.

That's my $.02

 

[Fatty]

Re: PA Systems. Open Discussion.

My band uses a 12-channel Peavey Unity mixer, a 900w Phonic power amp, 2 2x15 sonic cabs, and a peavey floor monitor for our drummer. Seems to get the job done for us.

 

[Robert S.]

Re: PA Systems. Open Discussion.

I have a pair of Crown CE 2000s, 2 Yamaha S115s and 2 Yamaha S118 subs for my FOH system, they never get plugged in for rehearsal.

For rehearsal I run one Crown CE 1000 into 4 Yamaha S112s. Even in my cement block basement I can dial the monitors in so they kick you in the face when singing. I have alot of headroom left over and the vocals are always exceptional sounding.

I don't think you'll get the useable power you'll need for vocals through a guitar head/amp and a 500-1000 watt tube guitar head will be next to impossible to find and if there is such a beast it will be heavier than I'd like to imagine.

You might get by with a pair of tube guitar heads and some very efficient speakers, but for that kind of money you could buy real PA gear. There must be a reason that no one that I can think of is selling tube PA gear anymore.

 

[Fatty]

Re: PA Systems. Open Discussion.

I have a pair of Crown CE 2000s, 2 Yamaha S115s and 2 Yamaha S118 subs for my FOH system, they never get plugged in for rehearsal.

For rehearsal I run one Crown CE 1000 into 4 Yamaha S112s. Even in my cement block basement I can dial the monitors in so they kick you in the face when singing. I have alot of headroom left over and the vocals are always exceptional sounding.

I don't think you'll get the useable power you'll need for vocals through a guitar head/amp and a 500-1000 watt tube guitar head will be next to impossible to find and if there is such a beast it will be heavier than I'd like to imagine.

You might get by with a pair of tube guitar heads and some very efficient speakers, but for that kind of money you could buy real PA gear. There must be a reason that no one that I can think of is selling tube PA gear anymore.

The highest power tube guitar amp is the 300w Blue Voodoo.

 

[some_dude]

Re: PA Systems. Open Discussion.

I asked an amp tech friend of mine about something similar recently.

I told him I was interested in running my stereo into a tube power amp, and was wondering if it would work using a guitar power amp. He told me it wouldn't work well because guitar amps don't have the bandwidth nor the headroom. He pointed out that most EL34 guitar amps are imfamous for having bad to so-so cleans, but that a good hi-fi EL34 tube amp sounded quite nice and had excellent cleans. He summed it up by saying they were just made for different perposes.

Don't know if that helps or not.....

 

[some_dude]

Re: PA Systems. Open Discussion.

The highest power tube guitar amp is the 300w Blue Voodoo.

The Mesa Stratagy 500 is 400w.

The Mesa Bass 400+ is 500w.

500=400w...
400=500w...
The Triple Recto only has two rectifiers....

I wonder if Randall smokes a big bong before naming his amps?

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: PA Systems. Open Discussion.

In my studio we only run vox through any kind of reinforcement. The rest is (very loud) "stage volume".

To do this we run a Digitech vocal preamp/processor into two cascaded Mackie SRM450's. They are acitve + bi-amped. The horn has a 100W amp, and the midrange/bass driver has a 300W amp, which is internal to the loudspeaker, as well as crossover.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: PA Systems. Open Discussion.

Yeah, I've always used high wattage SS power amps for PA's, but was just curious about the idea of using a tube power amp. Even though they're rated at less watts, tube power tends to be pretty loud. Thanks for you input. If I upgrade power amps, I'll likely sell my Carvin DCM1000 and get a Crown, Crest, or QSC with more wattage than I have now. Mine sounds good, but I'd love to have the added headroom.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: PA Systems. Open Discussion.

Dynacord Powermate 1600

 

[Stevo]

Re: PA Systems. Open Discussion.

I have a small PA for practice and small gigs only. I always beg the sound guys to use my vocal monitor when using house PA systems It's a JBL MR monitor with a 15. It rocks and I love it. It actually sounds better than my PA cabinets, which are JBL SF15s (lower end JBL). I have an 8 channel Mackie mixer and a Nady XA-900 power amp. The system cranks really well for the smaller stuff, when you don't mic the instruments.
When I was in a band that actually worked all of the time, we had thousands of watts and a triamped speaker system with all JBL enclosures. These days, I usually play through a house PA system.